Civil War
by bwayfan25
Summary: War has come to Munchkinland, and every member of the Thropp family plays their own part. AU-ish. Musicalverse.
1. Chapter 1

**I labeled this AU, but it could potentially be set before Shiz in musicalverse. Please tell me what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

_Prologue_

Nessa sat in front of the window, looking out over the lawn of the Governor's Mansion. Elphaba approached her, her green hand placed gently on her little sister's shoulder. Nessa drew in a deep breath.

"I'm scared, Elphaba."

"I know," Elphaba replied, drawing an equally deep breath. "So am I."

"They've been in there for three whole days. From what I can gather from eavesdropping, Father and the Governor of Gilikin are ready for battle and the Governors of Quadling Country and the Vinkus are merely choosing a side."

Elphaba pulled a chair up next to her sister. They sat in silence, only interrupted by occasional bangs and shouts from their father's office only doors away from them.

As they watched, Elphaba noticed something over the crest of the hill opposite them. The mansion lay in a valley, a hill rising in the front, and forest spreading behind. The speck over the hill was dark against the setting sun behind it. And it got larger.

Elphaba squinted, one hand raised to shield her eyes from the sun. The speck was clearly a person, squatting just over the top of the hill.

"Do you see that?" Elphaba asked quietly.

But Nessa didn't have time to answer, as the figure on the hill had just pulled out a gun.

"NO!"

When Frex and the other Heads of State entered the room, the scene was unimaginable.

The front window was shattered. A massive cloud of dust had flown up from the now shredded curtains. Nessa's chair was flung sideways against the wall, and the girl herself was huddled against an opposite wall. Most of her figure was blocked however by Elphaba, who had clearly tackled Nessa out of her chair, using her own body to protect Nessa from the attempted assassination.

"Elphaba Ameya Thropp! What the devil is going on here?!"

But Elphaba was already on her feet. One long, green index finger was pointing to the hill, where the figure had now disappeared into the deepening black.

She outlined the path of the bullet from the hill to where Nessa's chair had been to the wall behind her. She took a few steps forward, and there, clear as day in front of them all, was a bullet hole in the wall. The height of where Nessa's heart would have been.

Elphaba then turned to the Governor of Giliken, a portly older man with a white mustache. Sweat had beaded on his forehead. There was fear in his eyes as he made eye contact with Elphaba, whose face was filled with rage and murder.

"Thought you'd get a head start on the war? Compromise the Governor of Munchkinland emotionally by killing his daughter? By KILLING MY SISTER?!"

Frex and the Governor of Quadling Country had to restrain Elphaba so she would not attack the Gilikinese Governor. Nessa sat, still huddled against the wall, silently sobbing in the background.

The next sequence of events flashed by in a blur. Frex's guards let go of Elphaba, who fell backwards. They grabbed the Governor of Gilikin. But the Governor of Gilikin's guards stepped in and wrestled the Munchkinland guards to the ground, while another scooted the Gilikinese Governor to a waiting carriage. It then sped off.

When the scene slowed to real time, Frex was standing in the middle of the room. Two guards were unconscious at his feet. Elphaba was holding Nessa tightly, tears sliding down her cheeks as Nessa sobbed freely in her arms.

Without much thought in what he was doing, he knelt down beside both of them and wrapped his arms around them. Even Elphaba.

The sound of footsteps thundered down the hall. Four guards skidded to a stop in front of the doorway. They saluted, and one stepped forward. He said nothing, but just awaited orders.

Frex took a deep breath, gave the girls one last squeeze and turned to face the guards.

His face was deadpan. A new vehemence showed in his eyes.

"Lieutenant Killsara, contact the rest of the guards and send a message to the general of the Munchkinland Army. Tell them to arms themselves to prepare for battle. We are at war."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! So from now on, this will be told in a series of one-shots, each marked with the date, day of the war, and location. They will eventually merge into a combined ending. And I follow the ****_Out of Oz_****/ ****_The Wizard of Oz _****dating, with the farmhouse/ melting occurring around 1903. This takes place two years before Shiz, which takes place two years (or so) before Act II. SO, this takes place circa 1899- end of Victorian era, beginning of Edwardian era. Please let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

_October 21. Day 29. Governor's Mansion._

"Why isn't she taking care of it?!" a young man with short brown hair and a nurse's smock shouted as he pushed the doors open with a bang. A slightly older but shorter female nurse with shoulder length blonde hair trotted in behind him.

The man had made his way to a shiny brass telegraph clicking away on an oaken table. He glanced around the room.

The "Code Room" as it was now called was the library. One half of the cavernous block of a room was home to floor to ceiling bookshelves. The other half had a ceiling of clear glass, shaped like a dome, centered over a seating around. Handsome couches surrounded the wooden table now housing the telegraph. Opposite the table, a fire crackled merrily in the grate. Apart from the fire and the candles placed on both sides of the two doors out of the library and the one to a smaller den, the room was dark. Crystal specks of white shone down from the star speckled black night showing in the dome above.

"She's probably in her room. She was up from 7 am to just after midnight yesterday. The new recruits from Quadling Country sent a large amount of records over that needed translated _and_ decoded. Let her sleep," the blonde nurse whispered as the man shuffled around looking for a pen and paper.

"Where is she though? I wouldn't expect her to sleep through a message. Now was that P-L-I or P-L-E?" the man asked as he scribbled frantically, attempting to make up for lost time.

The other nurse pointed at the couch directly opposite the fire. The male nurse glanced over his shoulder for a moment. He was bale to catch the figure of someone asleep, curled up in a ball with their back towards him. He continued to write furiously, his brow furrowed, sweat beading on his forehead.

" I didn't have the heart to tell her to move back to her room."

"Yes, well...GAH!" the man shouted, tossing the pen onto the table. The clicking had stopped, but the man wasn't done figuring out what it said.

"Great! Now we have no idea what that message said," the man stated angrily. He sat down harshly in the nearest armchair.

"Infantry II split up. Stop. Moving back to camp. Stop. Attempt forward in morning. Stop. Please send news to base. Stop," said a voice from to the right of the man.

"Sorry?"

Nessa sat up, her eyes half-closed , her hair tousled. She yawned. The nurses looked at each other, then back at her.

"Infantry II split up. Stop. Moving back to camp. Stop. Attempt forward in morning. Stop. Please send news to base. Stop," Nessa repeated.

"We thought you were asleep," the female nurse said quietly, sitting in another chair.

"I was drifting in and out of sleep, but you're right. I can't sleep through a message," Nessa explained. She yawned again.

"Okay. Go back to sleep," the female nurse said in a comforting, motherly voice. "We'll wake you if needed."

But Nessa's mind was already adrift in the thoughts of where her sister and father were. If they were together. If they were safe.

Like every other time, tears welled in her eyes as she tried not to think that the distant gunshot fired in the night could mean the end of one of them. Or both.


	3. Chapter 3

**I released chapters 2 and 3 at the same time, so basically the same thing. Please tell me your thoughts. Oh, and I kind of imagine a part of this being ****_The Hunger Games_****-esque. You'll see why. And there's a reference to a TV show in here if you can catch it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

_November12. Day 51. Somewhere in NW Munchkinland. _

"Messenger! Come here!" a voice boomed across the camp.

Soldiers in navy uniforms surrounded small campfires, chatting quietly. The November sun was threatening to set behind the gray clouds.

Across the camp, in a long gray cloak, with its hood pulled up over their head, a figure rose. With a flick of their wrist, water poured over the red embers of their solitary fire. The red died, smoke rising from its ashes.

The figure, known throughout camp only as The Messenger, approached the man from which the voice sounded.

General Lurtequa was a living legend in Munchkinland. As a teenager, he won fame when he grabbed a fallen commander's sword and led the Munchkinland army to victory over a rogue band of Evians who had been making their way across Oz from North of the Vinkus. Almost fifty years later, with a larger stomach and a larger array of health problems, he continued to lead the Munchkinland troops to victory. Barely.

As The Messenger approached, Lurtequa climbed down off of his horse. His breathing was heavy.

"You. Take this to Lieutenant Jero Dawll of the Fifteenth Brigade. They are stationed on the far side of Munchkinland. It's a two day trek. You may replenish your supplies in the tent before departure," Lurtequq said before coughing loudly. A soldier appeared at his soldier with a glass of water.

The Messenger nodded, and turned.

After a quick stop for supplies, The Messenger set off. Every eye in the camp was on The Messenger as they left camp alone, disappearing into the black forests to the east.

Once safely outside of the camp, the hood fell away. It had been restricting her vision anyways.

Elphaba groped in her bag for a cube. Pulling it out, it clicked open with a flick of her thumb. She set it on the ground. In her other hand was clenched another small box, from which she pulled out a single match. Striking it on the side of the box, it blazed to ignition, lighting a circle around her as she crouched on the forest floor.

The compass, the first cube she pulled out, pointed out that North was to her left. She was going the right way.

Elphaba trekked on foot East until she saw the first glinting of dawn peek through the trees. Exhausted from her walk, she climbed into a nearby tree.

After wrapping up in her bed roll and securing her legs to the branch with rope, she placed her bag behind her head. Within moments she was asleep.

She awoke to voices under her. Her sleep had been long, for already the stars had returned to the sky.

It wasn't the voices that concerned her at that moment. Her concern was for the yellow eyes staring back at her from the branch above.

"Please don't hurt me," Elphaba whispered at the lynx crouching on the branch above her.

"And why shouldn't I? You are in my tree," the Lynx, as Elphaba now realized, replied.

"Because I don't want to hurt you. I was just tired."

Though Elphaba wasn't sure, she thought she saw a glimmer of... something cross the Lynx's eyes. If she wasn't mistaken... it was taken aback by her honesty.

The Lynx peered down at the men below. There were three of them, but these soldiers were dressed in purple.

"And what of them?"

"I don't know," Elphaba whispered. "They probably would kill me though."

The Lynx gave Elphaba a smile, and then leaped down off of the branch, A nasty snarl escaped its lips. The soldiers dispersed with shouts and curses Elphaba dare not repeat in front of anyone.

Moments later, Elphaba climbed down too, her bed roll packed back into her bag.

"What is you name?" Elphaba asked.

"Neua. I used to be an accountant for the Gilikenese ," the Lynx replied. "And you?"

"Elphaba Thropp, daughter of the Governor of Munchkinland. What do you mean used to be? Before the war?"

"No. I was fired before the war was even thought of. Gilikin will be one of the first to pass the new laws. I guarantee it."

"What new laws?" Elphaba asked, crouching down next to Neua.

"There is a stirring in the Emerald City about Animals. Whispers. Thoughts. Nothing has been done yet, but it will surely come."

"I don't think I-"

Elphaba was cut off.

One of the Gilikinese soldiers had returned with his gun. His nerves now in line, he made a clean shot through the Lynx's chest. The bullet grazed Elphaba's arm. Nothing deep.

But Elphaba was on her feet, her state issued dagger ready in her hand.

With a graceful movement, the dagger flew across the small clearing. It sliced across the soldier's leg. Again, nothing too deep, but deep enough that Elphaba deemed it probably would be difficult to walk too far on.

As she picked up the dagger, she pointed it straight down the soldier's nose.

"Leave. Now."

"You're... but how're you..." the man spluttered.

"NOW."

The soldier felt around for his gun, but Elphaba had already kicked it away. Upon realizing this, his eye grew wide. He rolled to his side, and struggled into a standing position.

ELphaba watched him limp away. But gasps of breath forced her to turn around.

"Hush now," the Lynx whispered as Elphaba began to cry and apologize. "Just... run. Run, girl, and remember...me."

And with that, Neua the former accountant of Gilikin, died like a common lynx.

It took Elphaba over an hour to pull herself together. But eventually, she remembered the importance of her mission. So she cleaned her wound, put her bag on her back, and moved forward, vowing never to forget how the Lynx made it back to the forest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey. Thank you for reading this fic. Of all of the ****_Wicked_**** fanfiction, and you are reading this one. Thank you. **

**R and R if you like (it is very helpful and appreciated).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

_November 12. Day 51. Somewhere in NW Munchkinland._

Frex watched Elphaba disappear into the woods. Though he harbored resentment against his elder daughter, the idea of her leaving made him a bit... sad? She was the only person he knew and (though he loathe to admit it) trusted in the camp. How could he trust soldiers and spies whose jobs it is to fight and discover secrets?

He didn't want to be with the soldiers and spies. It wasn't that he didn't want to be in control per wanted to be in control from the safety and warmth of the Governor's Mansion.

But that wouldn't work. The only communication available was telegraph (which could only be set up at long-term encampments) or messenger (reliable but, sadly, expendable).

"Commander Thropp," a voice next to him. "A word?"

Frex jerked back into reality. The General had one hand on Frex's shoulder, the other holding a cigar.

"Yes."

The two men walked behind a nearby carriage in order to keep their conversation private.

"Commander Thropp," the General began. "We seem to have a problem with the western side of the country. The most recent information from the camps around there say that carriages of soldiers have been found crashed with the dead scattered in the brush along the Yellow Brick Road."

"The Yellow Brick Road? You mean the Wizard's new connecting road from the Emerald City to Munchkin Rock? Why in Oz would men be found dead there? There are no battles or fights anywhere near there. Guerrilla warfare? Do you really think the Gilikinese have gone that far south?"

"I don't know sir, but I have a feeling that it's not the Gilikinese. The informant told me that the men had been killed using what appeared to be a double-pronged close-range rifle. Not even the richest Gilikinese backer could provide them with those. They are only found in the Emerald City. And there was something even more suspicious than that."

"More suspicious than possible Emerald City involvement against us? What could possibly be worse?"

"They were soldiers from both sides. All dead. And there was a large contraption in the woods near them. A box of some kind. Made of a metal grid. Rumor from inside the green gates calls it a 'cage'. For animals. And, I guess, Animals. They house the creatures inside of the cages to keep them safe. And the cage found with the bodies was quite large. And something had broken out of it."

" Any word from the Emerald City on a break out? A theft?"

"No. Not a word. They are remaining as they have done the whole war. Silent."

Frex wiped his brow, now dripping with sweat. Soldiers working together to break animals, or Animals, out of the Emerald City in the middle of a war? What could possibly bring this about?

"But," the General announced, dropping his cigar and crushing it underfoot, "we cannot let this bother us too much. We have a war to win."

THe General gave a jovial smile, and clapped a hand on Frex's back, pushing him back to the camp.

But Frex couldn't forget this. Despite all of the tasks he completed that day, he couldn't stop thinking of this new problem arising in the Emerald City. And what it could mean for the future of Munchkinland.


	5. Chapter 5

**I have nothing to say right now except I don't own anything and please R and R if you like. **

_December 21. Day 90. Two miles south of Appleton._

Elphaba sat on a makeshift chair of logs next to the crackling fire. A small, blue notebook was open on her lap. The open page consisted of tally marks and tear drops.

This was the first of Nessa's birthday that Elphaba had missed. And the first time in thirteen years that she hadn't visited her mother. Every December 21 since she was five, Elphaba had trekked through the inevitable knee deep snow to the cemetery to lay a lily on her mother's grave. Every year. Until now.

That's when she heard it. A rustling through the bushes. Snow shook off the branches of the foliage. Someone was nearing her. Her hand reached for the knife strapped to her left calf as she crept behind a tree.

Her breath held, she listened with all her might. Her peripheral vision was no help. The lenses of her glasses didn't extend that far.

With care, Elphaba peered around the tree.

There, in the small clearing, stood a tall youth, maybe 17 or 18 years of age. His sandy hair was cut short, and he looked thin, yet strong at the same time. The only problem was his uniform. It was purple.

With one move, Elphaba tackled the young man to the ground. Her knife was mere inches from his throat.

"Bu...but...you...what...ulgh..." the young man spluttered as he struggled to gain control of his surroundings. It didn't work though. Elphaba was sitting on his chest. His eyes daren't move from her knife, now pointed right between his eyebrows.

"Who are you? Who sent you? How did you find me?" Elphaba demanded. She stood so he could breathe, but her knife didn't shift its position.

"I'm Fi...you're...you're...green!" he spluttered, gulping.

"Really?" she spat, her teeth clenched, "I hadn't noticed. Finish your answer. Who are you?"

"Fiyero...Ti-Tiggelar. Crowned Prince of the Vinkus. So go on."

"Go on and what?"

"You know. Kneel."

"What?" Elphaba asked, her eyebrow raised. She inched closer to this so-called prince so as to remind him of her position in the arguement. He gulped.

"Okay. Okay. It was worth a try," Fiyero cracked a smile. "Which side are you on?"

"Munchkinland. Which you can probably infer as the reason that I have yet to put down my dagger. I am Elphaba Thropp. Eldest daughter of the Governor of Munchkinland."

"I would guess you are a messenger? Is that what they do to Munchkinlander messengers? Paint them green so they remember which ones are theirs?"

Fiyero laughed to himself, but Elphaba was not amused.

"How did you get out here? Is your unit somewhere nearby? Or are you lost?"

Fiyero didn't answer. Or meet Elphaba's gaze. She smirked.

"You are lost, aren't you?"

"Yes. I was fighting in the Perth Hills in southeastern Gilikin, and was captured. I escaped from their camp and ran off. But I didn't have a... a protractor thing, so I couldn't tell which way was North. To get back to Gilikin."

" A protractor thing?" Elphaba snorted. "Do you mean a compass? Well, I see the Vinkun government certainly spares no expense on the education of it's figureheads."

"Education? Ha. Why do you think I signed up for the war in the first place? I wanted to get out of school. Trust me, it's not for the perks."

At this, Fiyero gave a large shiver, his hands rubbing together in an effort to generate heat. Elphaba hadn't noticed before, but the Vinkun prince had no winter attire. Just a purple uniform that was starting to wear in places. She herself on the other hand had thick wool socks, leggings, winter coat, hat, scarf, and gloves. Though it had been her idea to pack them in the first place, it still wasn't fair.

"Here" Elphaba said, tossing her jacket to the boy. "We're two miles south of Appleton. They're neutral. We can stay at the inn there. Come on."

Elphaba stood up. Fiyero followed, but was wary. But the cold was too much for him to argue.

There was silence as they walked, only changed by the crunch of snow underfoot. The flakes had grown in size, and the temperature seemed to be dropping by the minute.

"Why are you green?" Fiyero asked after an hour of hushed travel.

"I don't know."

"How can _you_ not know?" FIyero asked with an incredulous laugh. " Of all people? Face the color of a vegetable. How can you not even know? You're what... 17? 18? That seems more than long enough a time to figure it out. I mean is it just you? Or do you have a brother or a sister who is-"

Before Fiyero could react, Elphaba had turned and backhanded him across the face. His body crumpled against the snowy ground, where the wind was knocked from his chest. Her gloved hands grabbed the jacket and pulled him to his knees.

"I saved your life. Without me, you would die out there in the cold. How _dare_ you insult me when you owe me so much?" Elphaba snapped. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

Elphaba continued walking. Fiyero followed, but left a good distance between them. It wasn't long after their words that they reached the small town.

Snow covered every building in the village. Elphaba led the way to the second largest building. Fires could be seen in the grates of neighboring houses.

The inn itself was scorching. Two fires warmed the first floor, and the multiple flues with smoke Elphaba had seen indicated more fires elsewhere in the building.

"A room with two beds," Elphaba whispered, sliding a predetermined amount across the counter to the innkeeper. The woman seemed suspicious of the hooded figure in front of her, but gave a sigh nonetheless.

"Sorry, love. Only one room left. Only one bed. "

Elphaba sighed and nodded, taking the key that had been slid back to her across the counter.

Their room was small, with a fire in the grate only a foot from the end of the bed. A small bathroom was connected off the bed to the right. Elphaba indicated the bathroom to Fiyero, who nodded and entered. Her heart dropped when she saw a bright red mark on his cheek.

She sat down on the bed, and skinned off her cold, wet leggings and socks, as well as two jumpers. An iron spit, meant to hold a kettle, lay over the fire. Carefully, she lay her wet clothes on the spit, adjusting it so as to not let the orange flickers set them alight.

The bed was firm but plush enough to be comfortable. Elphaba laid on it for an hour. Her brain was almost calm enough to allow for sleep when Fiyero exited the bathroom. His face and hair seemed to gleam afresh in the firelight.

Wordlessly, Elphaba gathered up one of the blankets and threw it on floor. She knelt down to adjust it into a nest of sorts. Within minutes, she was asleep.

Fiyero watched her sleep. He felt guilty about his comments. He didn't know what had come over him. His brain still abuzz, he relaxed on the bed and fell asleep.

"Elphaba! Elphaba! Wake up!" Fiyero shouted.

ELphaba jerked awake. Even without her glasses, she could tell something was wrong. Everything looked... orange.

_No, _she thought. _No. Not here. Not now. _

Fiyero was pulling on his boots as ELphaba's vision cleared thanks to her glasses. Outside the window, orange sparks flew against the stark night sky. She too grabbed her boots.

They ran together, hand in hand out into the night. The inn wasn't ablaze, but the surroundings were. Voices shouted from all directions. Children ran around crying. Men hauled in buckets of melted snow. Gunshots rang out from everywhere.

Fiyero and Elphaba grabbed each other, ducking behind a bunch of rubbish bins.

Fiyero looked into her eyes. Elphaba looked into his. She touched the mark she had made.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Me too. I-"

He interrupted himself by kissing her. A magical spur of the moment kiss.

Elphaba pulled away. SHe touched his face again.

"I will see you again," she whispered. And then she disappeared into a building , searching for survivors.

"Wait Elphaba. Elphaba!" Fiyero shouted. He followed her in.

She was grabbing up children. He did the same. In and out, in and out they ran with more and more children every time. By the time all of the kids were out, the fire had been put out too. The gunfight had ended, the voices and their owners retreating into the woods.

"Anyone here?" Elphaba called into the remnants of the building. Again, Fiyero did the same.

_Creak. Crunch_.

Elphaba looked up to see the effects of the fire take the toll on the wooden structure.

And then everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**This is a very short chapter. I promise the next will be longer. Enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

_December 23. Day 92. Governor's Munchkinland._

The alarm on Nessa's bedside table went off. 6 AM. Another whole day without any messages coming through. That makes three. Should she be worried?

Nessa was straightening her nurse's cap as her hand moved to push the large oaken doors of the ballroom-turned-hospital when a familiar voice rang out from behind her.

"Nessarose!"

She turned to see her father, still in his uniform, panting madly. Behind him, a slew of soldiers was busy carrying two stretchers through the entry. Nessarose couldn't see faces from her level.

But she was already crying. She didn't need to see the faces, or know what her father was about to say.

An emerald green arm was hanging out of the blanket on the stretcher.

"ELPHABA! NO ELPHABA! PLEASE LET ME IN. THAT IS MY SISTER! LET ME IN. MOVE, PLEASE. PLEASE NO. NO. NO. NO," Nessa repeated, her attempts to move the carriers out from in front of her.

She felt her father's arms lift her out of her chair. he arms swung wildly, her face gleamed with tears. She felt like a child. There was nothing she could do. Helpless. Always helpless.

It was a long time until Nessa had stopped crying long enough for her father to explain.

"We were gathering up corp- uh well, soldiers, when we found her and a Gilikin soldier in a pile of rubble. Witnesses say she and the young man had been trying to get people out of the building before it collapsed."

Nessa took a deep breath.

"Is she dead?"

"I don't know," Frex said, tears glistening in his eyes. "They were both unconscious when we found them. But I don't know. It could have changed since then."

And, as if on cue, a male nurse entered the room. He gave a slow nod.

"Sir? She's alright. You can see her if you want?"

Never before had Nessa wanted to run so much in her entire life. Her father had removed her from her chair. She was trapped. She could crawl of course. But a fat lot of good that would do her.

Much to her surprise, her father returned only a few moments after he left. He lifted her into it (though he knew perfectly well she could do it herself), and she was out the door before he had turned around.

Elphaba was sleeping in a small sitting room off of the ballroom.

"I'm sorry, Elphaba," Nessa whispered, stroking Elphaba's hair. At her words, Elphaba's eyes blinked open.

"Elphaba," she replied in a croaky whisper.

"Yes. Yes. Elpahaba. Yes!" Nessa announced excitedly.

"I'm ELphaba."

"Yes. Yes, you are," Nessa answered, her excitement turning into a sense of dread.

"I'm Elphaba," she repeated. Nessa's eyes widened in fear.

She knew what was coming next. And the words still filled her with fear and sadness.

"Who are you?"


End file.
